Dartmouth College Installs ‘Pump And Treat’ System To Treat Water Contamination.
This weekend, residents of a Hanover neighborhood near a Dartmouth College hazardous waste site went to check out a system designed to clean up their groundwater.
The pump and treat system went online in early February.
It was designed specifically for the Hanover contamination of the chemical 1,4-dioxane, a probable carcinogen which has been found in local drinking water.
The chemical was left over from a mid-century hazardous waste burial site where Dartmouth research labs had previously dumped materials.
Currently, the system pumps over 1,400 gallons of contaminated ground water a day – but that will likely increase in the future.
Jim Weick is a water geologist and the manager overseeing the project.
He explained to neighbors how the $2 million system will work over the next five-plus years.
“It’s a filtration type of system,” Weick said on the Rennie Farm property recently.
“The media that is in it — a synthetic resin — passes through that material … [it] is capable of filtering out the 1,4-dioxane where it’s difficult for a lot of other media to do it.” Weick and Dartmouth are exploring the possibility of creating a second pump and treat system to mitigate the plume, which has reached about a mile away from the original waste site.

Contamination Prompts Suffolk County Water Authority To Install New Mains In Westhampton Beach.
The water main connections will be an extension of existing pipes and will be funded entirely by the ANG, according to a letter submitted by the Suffolk County Water Authority to the Village of Westhampton Beach, though the letter did not specify how much the installation will cost.
The move is in response to the discovery of chemicals known as perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, in the groundwater.
The ANG has taken responsibility for the contamination, which most likely stems from when the facility was used as a firefighter training location that routinely used fire suppressing foam—a product known for containing the potentially hazardous chemicals.
To date, Suffolk County has found the chemicals in eight private wells and in the groundwater, though it has been treated to nonhazardous levels in the water authority system.
Last week, the Village Board unanimously voted to allow the water authority to extend the water main on Mickie’s Way to reach one of the affected homes.
Village Mayor Maria Moore said the project will not cost village taxpayers any money and that it is possible other private homeowners will be asked to allow similar projects on their streets.
Officer Promoted Westhampton Beach Village Police Officer Steven McManus has been promoted to detective.
“I want to say thank you to the chief and the Village Board for promoting me,” Det.
McManus said this week.

The GLWA released a statement Monday insisting the water has met recent EPA testing standards and is safe for consumption despite taste and odor issues.
The water authority said turbidity is the cause of the taste and odor.
(Source: EPA) Read more from the USGS on turbidity here.
The GLWA said it tested for all of this: Testing has also been completed for bacteria, and all results have returned negative for bacteria in the water.
Results indicate the water meets water quality criteria except for taste and odor.
Q&A: What we know about Downriver’s water quality concerns Pets getting sick But even after more testing, residents still have concerns including several reports about pets getting sick after drinking the water.
Dingell wants to know more about the testing, what’s causing the reported odor issue, and more (read below).
It is my understanding the Great Lakes Water Authority has increased sampling and testing of the water in Downriver communities following these reports.
Will results from testing the water be released to the public?
How can we all work together with the appropriate public health authorities to ensure these cases are being properly tracked?

Englewood Hospital battling lead contaminated water.
ENGLEWOOD, New Jersey (WABC) — Englewood Hospital is facing a different kind of emergency Tuesday night: lead contamination in its water.
According to the medical center: "Water samples tested on December 21, 2016, from some of our buildings were found to have levels of lead which exceed the federal action level of 15 parts per billion."
In fact, one source tells Eyewitness News that some of the water tested reached 1,200 parts per billion.
"Lead can cause decreases in IQ, can affect behavior, attention, mood, growth.
Lead is just a known toxin, and in high levels can cause seizures," said Dr. Allen Dozer, Boston Children’s Health Phys.
Given the alarming results, the hospital reports, "We are providing bottled and/or tank water throughout our medical center, including on all units for patient and employee use and in the kitchen for all meal preparation."
This as the hospital is irks with the NJDEP to locate the source of the dangerous contamination.
So investigators might have to start testing the pipes and faucet fixtures, all as they continue to care for the sick.
Digging into the pipes is not an easy process, but the priority now is finding and eliminating the cause of the contamination.

Here’s a Map of Every Country Where You Shouldn’t Drink the Tap Water.
Pinterest It’s something we seldom remember until it’s too late—where it’s definitely not a good idea to drink the tap water.
So, in the spirit of healthy global hydration, online travel booking company Just The Flight created a definitive guide to where Americans can and cannot drink tap water.
For more food and travel tips, follow PEOPLE Food on Facebook.
The map informs travelers in which countries they can drink tap and the prices of bottled water and beer there.
But for those who are just looking for plain data on tap water before they book a trip, the map answers very simply “yes” or “no.” For the latest food and drink news, follow PEOPLE Food on Twitter.
Whenever traveling to a country where tap water is not safe, remember the rule also extends to fresh fruit and vegetables.
Avoid produce unless it’s been peeled and skip ice in drinks.
All bottled water should be bought with a safety seal still intact as vendors in some countries are known to recycle plastic bottles with tap water.
Travelers can prepare for an illness by packing Pepto-Bismal or Imodium in their suitcases.

Downriver water quality concerns prompt testing.
Water quality concerns in Downriver communities prompted the Great Lakes Water Authority to test the taps there and at least one Wayne County municipality to conduct its own review, officials said Monday.
“While we have been provided with statements from the GLWA that the issue is aesthetic, we understand that some residents are still experiencing sulphur-smelling water quality issues,” they wrote in the letter, which also was signed by Taylor City Coucilman Alex Garza and Mayor Rick Sollars.
“We understand the heightened concerns residents have regarding water quality since the water emergency in Flint.
Over the weekend, Woodhaven Patricia Odette announced on her Facebook page that the city would complete its own testing of the water supply.
“They have found the samples to be ABSENT of E Coli and Coliform Bacteria,” Odette wrote.
“We are still waiting to hear more from Detroit Water and will keep you posted when we do!
“Taste and odor are associated with a spike in turbidity in the source water,” COO Cheryl Porter said, adding the authority expanded its testing as well as increased the number of samples taken at the Southwest Water Treatment Facility serving the communities affected.
Testing for volatile organic chemicals “indicated nothing unusual about the source or tap water,” but more results “indicate the water meets water quality criteria except for taste and odor,” Porter said.
“As taste and odor complaints increased, the treatment plant began feeding powdered activated carbon to mitigate taste and odor issues.” Meanwhile, the authority is “testing water for treatment 24/7 to ensure water quality,” Porter added.

The 167th Airlift Wing base source of Martinsburg water contamination.
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The federal government will pay millions of dollars for cleanup after it was determined the 167th Airlift Wing was the source of industrial chemicals that contaminated a groundwater source for Martinsburg’s public-water system.
Martinsburg City Manager Mark Bladwin told MetroNews affiliate WEPM the city has been working with the guard for several months discussing the issue.
“The city is pleased the guard is making the effort to correct that contamination so the Big Springs water plant can be used to its full capacity,” Baldwin said.
The Big Springs water-filtration plant closed in May 2015 after PFCs, or perfluorinated compounds, were discovered.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued new lifetime exposure health advisories for the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, liver damage and birth defects in recent scientific studies.
Baldwin said an agreement between the city and the government providing for reimbursement of incurred costs and future costs is expected to be finalized in the next couple of months.

Health alert in Hollister flood water contaminates wells.
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(KRON) As KRON4 first reported San Benito County has issued a water contamination health alert for anyone impacted by Wednesday’s floods.
There are about 90 wells along on Lovers Lane, Frye Lane and San Felipe Road in Hollister with possible contamination.
People living in those neighborhoods are advised not to drink, cook or bathe with their tap water.
Health officials are worried the flood waters might contain fecal matter and other potentially toxic substances.
The wells were likely contaminated by flooded septic systems, animal waste from farms and even gasoline from submerged cars.
#Breaking: San Benito Co Office of Emergency Services says residents of flood zone should not drink tap water.
Free bottled water provided pic.twitter.com/bOP7EfopfH — @Rob Fladeboe kron4 (@KRON4RFladeboe) January 13, 2017 Play Video Play Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% Remaining Time -0:00 This is a modal window.
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Coal train derailment near Ashcroft causes water contamination.
ASHCROFT — A health authority in British Columbia says a recent train derailment that spilled coal into the Thompson River near Ashcroft has made water unsafe for consumption.
Interior Health medical officer Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi says both the coal and the chemicals used to wash the coal before it was transported poses a threat to the water supply.
He says the concern is that ingesting any contaminants from the coal can cause gastrointestinal irritation.
The health authority warns that anyone within 50 kilometres downstream from the spill should not drink from the river, and boiling water will not remove potential contaminants.
CP Rail has said boats, booms and environmental equipment have been brought in to clean up the coal.
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Retention basin relocated to prevent water pollution.
At its December 12 meeting, the Lake Arrowhead Dam Commission, known as CSA 70-D-1, heard of progress in completion of its retention basin relocation project from San Bernardino County Special Districts Department Division Manager of Operations Reese Troublefield.
“The walls are in on the culvert on the west side, some of the concrete channeling is done, the grading on the upper pad of the parking lot is level grade,” Troublefield shared, advising the anticipated completion date was the end of January.
According to documents obtained by The Alpenhorn News, on or about 1997, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health Division of Environmental Health Services Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) recommended Papoose Lake Disposal Site for inspection to the then State of California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), now known as CALRecycle.
A December 5, 2001, priority list of Closed, Illegal and Abandoned Disposal Sites included Papoose Lake Disposal Site as a disposal site referred or projected in the near future for solid waste program cleanup.
In an interview with The Alpenhorn News, San Bernardino County Special Districts Department (SDD) Senior Project Manager Greg Bacon, Sr. explained, “The site was an old unclassified landfill, mainly consisting of green waste and some household trash ‘unofficial’ disposal site many years ago,” estimating the disposal site was created in the 1970’s.
“In the early 2000’s an interest of developing the site for public park purposes and later potential other local uses [sic], the landfill was required to be addressed,” Bacon shared, explaining SDD “conducted an extensive landfill classification and boundary survey” overseen by CALRecycle that “identified that the decomposed materials were not hazardous, but there was some indication of Methane gas potential” due to decomposing green wastes.
In a Final Site Investigation Report on the Papoose Lake Disposal Site, released April 2002 by CIWMB, the report made five recommendations to “bring the site into compliance with state minimum standards and protect public health and safety,” with one of them being “reconfigure the drainage pattern on the property to remove the current retention basin from directly above the landfill.” “Once we began the planning and subsequent construction process of McKay Park, that triggered the requirement to re-locate the basin,” Bacon explained with the relocation designed and approved by CLARecycle and LEA, “to address all of the site’s drainage and runoff concerns, along with maintaining existing downstream drainage.” “The main reason water should not be allowed to sit and potentially permeate through a landfill is to avoid possible groundwater contamination,” Bacon voiced, explaining, “By siting the new sediment basin away from the landfill, this protects the groundwater and any downstream waters.” “The total budget for the project to include engineering, construction and project management is about $600,000,” Bacon revealed, confirming, “The construction contract was issued to Altmeyer Inc., of Cedar Glen, on April 19, 2016, for $419,378.” CIWMB recommended “the waste in the fill area be left in place, and any future development of the site be limited to those areas not underlain with waste or artificial fill,” with SDD monitoring and maintaining the site to “prevent public exposure to the waste and to minimize the risk to public health, safety and the environment.” According to documents obtained by The Alpenhorn News, soil testing at the site found lead in one sample exceeding the Total Threshold Limit Concentrations and another sample exceeding the Soluble Threshold Limit Concentrations set by the State of California as well as other metals and the presence of methane gas.